


Schrodinger's House

by CloversintheMoonlight



Series: Not The House That's Haunted [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Eldritch!Logan, I dont actually know what Logan is now that I think about it, Shadowbeing!Logan, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, Thomas and Dee are brothers, monster au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 14:36:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18693505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloversintheMoonlight/pseuds/CloversintheMoonlight
Summary: All Dee wanted was to move out of his brother's apartment and find a place of his own. Things are rarely that simple.





	Schrodinger's House

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the first installment of my Monster!AU, which I dedicate to my good buddy Sanderstribute via tumblr. Couldn't do this without you buddy!

Dee was never one to believe that life was easy. Solutions to problems don’t conveniently drop into your lap, and answer don’t just magically pop out of thin air. You had to work hard for what you wanted, and put effort into solving your issues.

 Which was easier said than done when you found yourself constantly evicted due to circumstances that were out of your control but, well, what can you do. _Such is the curse of the gift of sight_ , Dee thought to himself as he clutched the iron nail in his pocket out of habit.

 In all honesty, he never expected to come across something that would help him move out of his brother’s apartment when, out of nowhere, he was called upon to settle a dispute between some minor fae in the park nearby. He’d been more concerned about coming out of the meeting unscathed, all things considered (while the small fairies that lived in the flower bushes were more than a little enamoured with him, the Lesidhe that lay claim to that particular patch of woods was less than fond of humans as a whole…). That being said, his mind was far from the prospect of apartment hunting when something caught his eye, making him stop in the middle of the sidewalk.

 The house exuded a quiet discomfort from its spot on the street, almost as if mocking the surrounding houses with its very existence. While the neighbouring homes were bright in color and encompassed by gardens of varying sizes, this one sat alone in a yard devoid of all life, plants seemingly withered and dead with no animals in sight. The house itself seemed to be saturated in shadows, though there were no trees or buildings around it capable of creating such a dark overcast. It almost looked like the very wood of the house itself was drenched in darkness, though you could faintly make out the muted blue of the original paint. The windows facing the street seemed to be caked with dust as nothing discernable could be seen of the inside, and the porch looked to be in desperate need of repairs. All in all, it was not a very pleasant house to look at, practically begging for people to ignore it and walk away.

 Which is exactly what Dee _would_ have done, had he not seen that the front door was wide open.

 He eyed the place suspiciously, looking for any signs of trouble. As much as he’d like to believe that the neighbourhood was as peaceful as it seemed to appear, he wasn’t an idiot.

 Well. As much of an idiot as his brother would lead you to believe.

 Peering at the towering structure before him, he wondered what could possibly have led to it falling into such a state. Areas like this were sure to have a Home-Owners Association attached to them, and he knew from experience what a group of stuck up elitist troublemakers they could be (and that was putting it politely). He found it hard to believe that no one had done anything about the obvious eyesore this house create to its surroundings.

  
Before he realised he had even taken a step forward, Dee found himself making his way along the short stone path that lead to the front door. Stopping short of the possibly rotten porch step, he took a moment to glare down at his traitorous feet before raising his gaze to the darkness that lingered beyond the open doorway. This was ridiculous. A terrible idea, really. Going inside is exactly what the dim-witted protagonist of a horror movie would do before meeting a drawn out, torturous death. Clearly he was smarter than that.

 He stepped up onto the porch.

  _Clearly not._

 Resisting the urge to groan at his own stupidity, he finally gave up any semblance of doing the smart thing and warily entered the house. Silence greeted him like a old blanket; smothering as it wrapped around him and leaving his skin to itch. He immediately noticed that the interior was just as dark as the outside, little to no light coming into the rooms despite the tattered curtains by the windows being open and full of holes. The room he stood in, which he guessed was the living room judging from how large it was, was empty of any furniture or decorations.

 Dee stepped onto the wood floors lighty, testing to see if they were sturdy and hopefully not rotten through. When the boards stayed firm and intact, he cautiously continued forward. He could feel the hair on his arms raise up as the weight of unseen eyes settled over him, but a quick look around proved that there was nothing to support his feeling of being watched. Overall it was unsettling, and Dee considered getting the heck out of there until he noticed what looked to be a fallen picture frame resting near the base of the stairs.

 Walking over slowly, he leaned down and picked it up. He was surprised to see a photograph within the frame, colors almost leached out giving it a black and white appearance. Before his eyes was the house, back in what he assumed was its glory days, proudly seated in the background. A small man stood in front of it, pointed face looking forward but small eyes darted off to the side, shoulders almost hunched around his ears. Dee found himself comparing the man to a rat, and could easily imagine him scurrying from room to room in his too big shirt and stained pants. Looking over it again, he squinted when he realized that there appeared to be someone else in the photograph, partially visible from one of the upstairs windows. Frowning, he leaned his face closer to the frame. Maybe his eyes were just playing tricks on him…?

 Suddenly, the theme song to Steven Universe cut through the silence, startling Dee bad enough that he dropped the frame. He winced at the sound of breaking glass, but chose to side-step the mess he’d made as he pulled his phone from his pocket. “Whatever it is, I didn’t do it,” he answered automatically.

 “If you say so,” the voice on the other end laughed out. “Though part of me is gonna be wondering what the heck you’ve been up to to need that response.”

 Dee rolled his eyes. “That’s for me to know and you to never find out,” he drawled. “Now, what can I do for you, brother of mine?”

 “What, can’t I just want to talk?”

 “Yes, though from past experience calls like these usually mean you’ve forgotten to pick up something while you were out.”

 Thomas was silent for a moment, and Dee could see him slumping his shoulders in his mind’s eye. “Yeah, okay you got me. I totally forgot to grab the milk and I really really need it if i wanna get this baking done tonight. Could you swing by the store on your way back? If it’s not too much trouble?”

 “Well my schedule seems to be pretty filled for the moment, but I guess I can squeeze you in between defacing public property and reclaiming dominance of McKinnley Park,” Dee said leisurely as he made his way back to the front of the house.

 “How generous of you,” Thomas replied dryly, before adding quickly, “Please don’t actually deface anything, please, my muffins will burn if i have to break you out of jail.”

 “You ruin all my fun,” Dee groaned, stopping at the front door.

 “That’s my job, bro.”

 “If you insist.” Casting a quick glance to the darkened room behind him, Dee leaned against the doorframe, feeling the dry wood press into his back. Without taking his eyes off the shadows, he hummed into the phone. “I’ll be back soon, then. I have to make a quick stop at the library before returning home.”

 “Oh yeah, no problem! Just remember to shoot me a text when you start making your way back please!”

 “Of course.” Saying a quick goodbye, he slipped his phone back into his pocket before turning to face the interior of the house once more. Gripping the edge of the door tightly with one hand, he gave another glare into the nothing, almost as if willing whatever was hiding inside to show itself. After a moment of nothing changing, Dee sighed to himself before walking backwards, all while pulling the door in front of him until it closed shut with a resounding click.

 Shaking his head again, he finally turned his back on the house and made his way to the sidewalk. There was really no reason for him to be this invested in an decrepit abandoned house that probably had as many long forgotten ghosts as it did spiders in it. Especially when the abandoned bit suggested that there were probably a plethora of reasons as to why it would be a bad idea to move in. Even if something that terrible looking would probably not be that expensive to rent. Not to mention the building itself seemed to only need minor repairs and was, surprisingly, in not too bad of a condition as what he expected going in…..

 “This entire day has been a bad idea, “ he groaned, rubbing at his temples to alleviate the headache he was giving himself from thinking such stupid, possibly dangerous, _idiotic-_

 “Y’know, Sonny, all talking to yourself’s gonna do is make people think you’re as crazy as you actually are,” a voice rang out from behind a rosebush, almost succeeding in making the young man jump completely out of his skin.

 Dee grimaced before peering behind an exceptionally fat rose to see a little old lady kneeling in the fresh dirt of the flower bed, gloved hands hard at work. “Duly noted,” he grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets before hesitating. “Have you lived here long?”

 “Been here as long as my house has been standing, boy-o,” she replied cheerfully, wiping some sweat off of her forehead with one of her arms. “Couldn’t pay me to move away, worked too hard on these plants to give up on em now,”

 “Right…” Gesturing to the dark house next to him, he added, “Then I’m sure you’d know all about the property next to you, yes? Could you tell me about the previous owners? Why they left, how long they’ve been gone..?”

 The old lady looked up to where he was pointing, face scrunched up in a frown. Her eyes, small as they were, seemed to have trouble locating the building in question. “Oh… huh, yknow im not actually sure…?” She said slowly, an almost blank expression overcoming her features. “Kinda always forget that place is there… kinda dreary, yknow? Haven’t seen anyone in years, probably no one ever lived there, wouldn’t surprise me… i think…”

 Looking back to the gardening tools in her hands, she blinked, before smiling suddenly up at him. “You looking to live around here, boy-o? Ain’t no houses for sale, but sure wouldn’t mind seeing a handsome fella like you around the block!”

 Dumfounded, Dee shook his head as he backed away slowly. “Not any time soon,” he said in parting, watching as the lady returned happily to her flowers without a second glance to the dark property next to her. _Strange,_ Dee thought to himself. Positively strange.

 

~,~’~,~’~,~’~,~’~,~

 

_The boy was certainly peculiar, there was no denying it. To have made it into his domain at all was a feat in and of itself. To do so with little to no power of his own? Practically unheard of. And yet there he had been, like a fish swimming through still water, disturbing the silt and the muck in his wake. Unaware of what lurked beneath the surface. No idea of the predator lusting for the taste of fresh prey…_

  _It was foolish to entertain the thought of life making its way back into the house. Humans were silly, foolish things. Yet, watching the boy walk away, the stale air almost tasted of something long forgotten. A zest of intrigue. Possibly excitement. Would he forget having ever stepped foot so close to danger? Or would he be back, bringing with him that sweet gift of unpredictability so often missed?_

  _As the boy disappeared from view, so did the shadow that lurked in the top floor window, blending back into the darkness within. All there was to do now was wait._

  _And waiting was something He has long since perfected._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lesidhe: The Lesidhe appoint themselves as woodland guardians, a position whose duties they seemingly regard as largely consisting of making life difficult for human ramblers and forestry workers. The local Lesidhe generally seem content to frighten and bewilder mankind by causing them to lose their way in the heart of the woods


End file.
